How DNA Paternity Testing Can Speed Up Child Support Cases
Not too long ago, DNA testing was something reserved for law enforcement in the conviction of criminals. Now, however, DNA tests are accessible to virtually anyone, whether it be for determining where your ancestors came from, or to help determine paternity of a child in a legal case. If you’re in the midst of a child support case, Jackson, MS, paternity testing can help accelerate the slow legal processes often involved in these cases. How can using a paternity test expedite a child support case? Keep reading to find out.
Establishing Legal Paternity
Obviously, proving paternity is the most important part of any child support or child custody case. Whether the parents are unmarried or the child’s parentage has been called into question for any reason, simply accepting someone at their word is difficult to do during such complex legal proceedings. Paternity tests have proven to be 99.99% accurate, providing irrefutable evidence of a biological relationship between a father and a child.
If the supposed father is disputing paternity in a child support case, the court can order a paternity test to be conducted. If the test confirms he’s the father, legal proceedings can more forward much more quickly, and begin focusing on more exact terms of the child support agreement, rather than getting bogged down in accusations of infidelity. Without such concrete evidence, disputes over paternity can delay a case for months as both parties navigate the legal red tape.
Court-Admissible DNA Testing
It’s important to note that not all DNA tests are admissible in court. To be considered valid in legal cases, the DNA test must follow strict chain-of-custody requirements. This ensures that the test results are not only accurate, but undoubtedly free of any potential tampering. Tests that don’t adhere to the court’s required chain-of-custody procedures—like at-home tests—aren’t considered admissible in a child support case.
If you need a DNA test for any reason relating to court proceedings or legality, it’s important that you are specifically requesting a legal DNA test from a certified lab. You should verify with any testing facility you use that the results will be admissible in court, and come with a certificate stating that the test results are true and accurate. Doing so will help prevent any additional delays in the legal process, making it easier to establish child support agreement quickly.
Pre-Emptive DNA Testing
If you know that your child’s paternity has been questioned, you don’t need to wait for a court order to get a legal DNA test. You can request such a test on your own form a certified DNA testing facility. Doing this early on in the legal process will further expedite your case, reducing the time you spend in court.
As you can probably guess, walking into the courtroom with irrefutable evidence of the child’s paternity leaves very little to argue about on this front, saving both parties (and the court, for that matter) valuable time. In fact, once paternity has been established, many states have a streamlined process for establishing child support payments. This allows you to skip the much more time-consuming disputes over fatherhood.
Potential Impact on Custody and Visitation
In addition to playing a major role in child support, DNA testing can also impact child custody and visitation rights. Fathers who may have been uncertain about their biological connection to a child in the past can gain parental rights once paternity is established. This can include the right to seek custody or visitations, both of which are very important for fathers who want to play a more active role in their child’s life than simply providing child support. On the other hand, if a paternity test excludes paternity, the man previously supposed to be the child’s father may lose any parental rights he previously held.
DNA Testing to Benefit Both Parties
It’s worth noting that this kind of preemptive DNA testing really does benefit both parties in a child support or child custody dispute. If you are a mother seeking child support payments from the child’s father, establishing paternity quickly allows you to prove the father’s financial obligation and begin collecting those payments more quickly.
On the other hand, if you’ve been told you’re the father of a child and have reason to doubt that statement, taking a paternity test can remove any doubt regarding your role in the child’s life—either allowing you to have the case dismissed altogether if you’re not the father, or allowing you to move forward with creating a plan to care for your child. Either way, volunteering for a paternity test early on can reduce the time and stress spent on lengthy court proceedings, which is beneficial for every person involved, including the mother, supposed father, judge, attorneys, and even the child.
How to Get a Legal Paternity Test
Whether it’s for child support or child custody, a legal paternity test can be a valuable tool for expediting your case in family court. Obtaining a court-admissible, legal paternity test is much simpler than it sounds. Most major cities have a clinic close by that can offer this kind of testing. Paternity testing can be conducted with a simple cheek swab, so you don’t have to worry about giving a blood sample, and results are often available within a week.
All you have to do is contact a clinic offering a paternity test near me, and specifically request a legal paternity test. You’ll then be able to schedule a visit to have samples taken from both the child and the supposed father. Here at Mobile Drug Screen, we even offer expedited testing so that you can have your results in a matter of days, allowing you to move forward with the case even more quickly. Soon, you’ll have the answers you need, and any questions pertaining to financial support for your child will be settled.